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Animals eat grass and they thrive exceptionally! Heck, for some animals, that’s practically all they eat! If grass alone can sustain an entire cow, it must be exceptionally high in nutrients, right? That’s totally correct! Grass is amazing, but for us – not so much the regular paddock grasses.

Eating pure “grass,” like the stuff you’d pick up in your front yard, shouldn’t be your first go-to when thinking of picking up this very green habit. Regular grass actually has too much cellulose, so it’s very difficult for humans to digest. As a result, it provides very few nutrients to us. So cross that grass of your list!

What you should be going after in the fictitious “grass aisle” of your grocery store are “cereal grasses.” Did you know that wheat, barley, oat and alfalfa grasses are actually the young green sprouts that grow into those cereals? It may seem obvious now, but crazily, until I put two and two together, I had no idea. Hopefully that just blew your mind, too.

Wheat grass… becomes wheat. Barley grass… becomes barley.

Keep in mind that the grasses are just the leaves. Not the grains. Gluten-free, ladies and gents! (Of course).

Anyways, these types of grasses’ nutritional profiles are great for us! They’re comparative to many of the dark green vegetables we’re supposed to be eating regularly, but unfortunately they cannot be eaten by chewing or swallowing. You may have noticed your local juice joint juicing wheat grass into “wheat grass shots,” or that barley/oat grasses most commonly come in powders.

Like regular grass, it’s still pretty tough for us to digest them whole, so we have to extract the juice or make them into a powder before their nutrients can be available to our bodies.

Once these nutrients ARE available in the right forms though, the benefits are ASTOUNDING.

Since barley and wheat grasses are in my Everyday Greens powder, I’ll explain a little bit more about how awesome those two are.

Barley grass contains more calcium than cow’s milk. 11 times the amount to be exact! And nearly five times the iron of spinach. It’s also jam packed with vitamins C, B12, potassium, magnesium, zinc, beta-carotene and the list goes on and on.

It’s been used medicinally for thousands of years, treating skin, liver, blood and GI (gastro-intestinal) disorders, too.

Wheatgrass contains literally all minerals known to man. Seriously! It contains more vitamin C than oranges and twice the vitamin A of carrots, as a side note. It’s also incredibly rich in protein and contains 17 amino acids. It detoxifies your blood, cleanses the liver, helps relive constipation and can improve your digestive system (like yee ol’ medicinal barley grass!)

But it doesn’t stop there.

Wheatgrass improves arthritis, helps keep hair from greying, can help treat skin problems like psoriasis, eliminates tooth aches, can cure a sore throat (by gargling wheatgrass juice), improves blood sugar problems and as an interesting fun little fact, can also be used as a douche for many feminine complications.

Get your supply of both wheat and barley grasses today by purchasing a pack of your Every Day Greens from my online store! Remember FREE SHIPPING WORLDWIDE when you purchase my Everyday Green’s as part of a Starter Pack (yep – my full range of supplement’s AND my 12 week Transformation Guide with FREE SHIPPING!)

Running 21km might seem crazy to some people.
But for 10 thousand people yesterday, it seemed like a great idea.

As most of you know, my health journey started with mental illness, and physical illness followed soon after. I was on medication, and doctors told me NOT to do any excessive exercise. I was advised a gentle walk, no longer than 30min; and the gym twice a week. Anything more than that was ‘excessive’.

I knew that advice wasn’t right for me. But I did what I was told until I was released from hospital 30 days later.

Under the guidance of my psychiatrist, I weaned off my medication as I took up meditation and yoga, healthy eating, and exercise. Slowly I came back to life, but still struggled with excess energy, which would often manifest as anxiety, nervousness and insomnia.

I did moderate exercise… but it didn’t feel like it was enough. So I started running. I ran my first 5km and nearly died! Haha But I came home that night and felt calm and slept well.

Eventually I built up to running 10km a few times a week and noticed my energy levels were starting to balance out. From there, I made space in my life for running, as it was so therapeutic for me.

I continued to encounter hurdles in my life, and continued using balanced, healthy living as my foundation for being able to cope with the high levels of stress. And over the last few years, running became an outlet for stress relief and a source of ‘quiet time’.

As well as the physical benefits of enhanced fitness and mental clarity, these are some of the things that running has taught me:

You Have To Set Your Own Pace

You can try and keep up with someone else’s pace… but it will catch up with you eventually. You’ll start feeling the pinch cardio-vascularly, you’ll feel the burn in your legs; and at some point, you’ll have to admit that you can’t fake being fitter than you are. … In life, it ‘s easy to observe where someone else is at, and think to ourselves, “I should be able to do that”. And we get lost along the way, caught up in a type of frustration and self-sabotage when we can’t keep up with the Jones’s.

We are at where we’re at based on karma, destiny, the effort we’ve put in, our unique circumstances, etc. Going at our own pace in life is important for us to grow in an authentic, sustainable manner.

You Are Capable Of More Than You Think

How far can you run? If you really apply yourself I mean. If you train, get fitter and stronger; if you stop telling yourself you can’t; if you drop allllll the excuses. How far could you run then? Further than you can right now, that’s for sure.

Same thing applies to life in general.

How much could you grow, accomplish, do, see, give …. If you stopped telling yourself that you can’t or don’t have time; if you dropped all your excuses, and you just tried. And then tried again and again, despite being a total noob in the beginning; despite the number of failures; despite how much harder it is than you thought it was going to be.

What would be possible then?

Growth Comes From Taking Action

I never thought I’d be able to run 21km. Signing up for my first half marathon made me so nervous. Even going to the event – actually physically being there, in the sea of thousands of elite runners, while little ole’ me not sure about anything, wearing the wrong kind of shoes, and more worried I’d get in the way than actually worrying about how I’d get through it – showing up that day was a massive emotional fear that I had to face up to.
When my first half marathon was over a few years ago, I hated the running part, but I loved the mental growth part! Haha I loved that I did it. I was scared, but I did it.
Next year it got a little easier.
And the next year, I loved it. I showed up totally pumped. Stepped over that start line 100% up for it.
I could have sat around wondering what it would be like to do a half marathon… but I don’t think I would have grown from thinking about it. The growth came with the journey itself. The things that happened along the way, the fears that I faced, and putting myself out there even though I didn’t feel ready.

That’s how my business started. I didn’t feel ready. I didn’t know anything about business… but I knew that if I made the decision, and committed to it, I would figure out the puzzle piece by piece as I went.

Life is relatively the same – we learn a lot when we take action on something that’s outside of our comfort zone.

Running may not be your thing, and half marathons totally may not be your thing!! (haha they’re certainly not for everyone), but I know that all of you have exciting challenges that are whispering from your heart and are calling to be pursued. They don’t have to be gigantic, monumental activities… perhaps a small undertaking that you know you’ve been shying away from – taking up dancing again, going to sewing classes, starting a blog, running for council, taking up a 12 week challenge or entering and obstacle event… whatever it is, don’t shy away from the opportunity to act on something that will help you to grow and break out of that cosy comfort zone of yours!

If you landed on this page, odds are you’ve thought about doing yoga-asanas, are a yoga enthusiast who wants to know maybe why he or she started in the first place, or have no interest in yoga, but thought this might be a good read.

Whether or not any of these are true in your case, I urge you to take up this practice, because it’s not every day we get the chance to change our lives in such phenomenal and health inspiring ways.

Today could be your day to start on your own path to inner and outer strength.

Here are five good reasons why you should start doing yoga-asanas today:

1. It heals your spinal issues.

Yep. Those vertebrae on your back? Maybe you sit at a desk all day, sit during lunch, sit on your commute home, and then sit to watch tv or eat dinner after your work day? Maybe this leaves you constantly tucking your hands behind your lower back, bending every way, hoping to alleviate the pain? Maybe you’re fit and you’re lifting heavy weights or running without properly stretching? Or maybe you’re getting older and experiencing the gradual degradation of your bones and muscles? Well, not with yoga-asanas your’e not.

Yoga-asanas have exceptional powers with all of their twisting and bending positions to stimulate the spinal nerves, benefiting your entire nervous system (the complex network of nerves and cells that carry messages from your brain to your spinal cord). The problem actually doesn’t necessarily lie in our backs, instead, it’s in our hamstrings. When these muscles are shortened, they cause pain in our lower backs, so it makes sense to stretch them right?

Right. Yoga-asanas teach and encourages you to stretch to your fullest capabilities, while strengthening your back through planks and low back holds like the sphinx, and lengthening your hamstrings with the supine hamstring stretch and triangle pose. With one week of yoga-asanas under your belt, you’ll start feeling the results.

2. It’s great for your digestion… and your… elimination.

The deep breathing involved in yoga (you’ll constantly hear teachers exclaiming “in” or “out” or variations of those words to keep you intentionally breathing through the poses) helps massage your organs, so they can compress and lengthen your intestines, bring fresh blood to your tissue and aid your healthy gut function.

You may notice yourself fatigued after large meals, or a long day, so backbends, a staple pose in most asana classes, are a great way to relieve tiredness caused by poor digestion and give you more energy. Certain positions have the ability to wring out your organs, stimulating the movement of unwanted toxins in the body and other positions can even help relieve cramps.

3. It builds total-body strength

In weight training, athletes sometimes isolate muscles, working on certain muscle groups at a time, using dumbbells or machines to gain their strength. In yoga-asanas, on the other hand, all “lifting,” squatting or holding, is done with his or her own body, nothing else (unless of course you’re in a partner class, and in that case, you’re using his or her weight). And this is what makes yoga-asanas so practical, and so applicable in our everyday lives. Yoga-asanas build our “functional strength,” helping us with daily activities that are often overlooked. Sitting, walking, standing, bending over, etc., we still need strength for those, right?! Here are a few poses that build total-body strength.

Yoga-asanas have shown to help patients with their health issues, ranging anywhere from trouble sleeping or breathing to serious central nervous system diseases like MS. The deep breathing involved in the practice, for example, can help overcome and prevent asthma attacks. With a daily routine regulating your breathing rate, a cure is even possible!

Additionally, in many of the heart opening positions like the cobra pose (lie on your stomach and lift your chest off the floor with your hands palm face on the ground), your blood is able to flow more freely, stimulating the heart, thus aiding in the diagnosis of various heart problems.

And research has shown, that MS sufferers, can better manage their disease, with daily stretching. The type of stretching found in certain yoga-sequences may help address certain associated health problems: bladder control, balance and fatigue.

But the health benefits don’t stop at the body, because yoga is even suggested to those suffering from depression, schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions, to help reduce their symptoms. Which leads me to number 5.

5. Yoga makes you happy! And teaches you to handle stress!

Without getting super technical (I will in a coming blog), I think UCLA neurologist Alex Korb Ph.D said it best when he said:

“Yoga (asana practice) is simply the process of paying attention to the present moment and calming the mind. Over time you will start to retrain your automatic stress reaction, and replace it with one more conducive to happiness and overall well-being.”

During your yoga asana practice, it’s important to remain calm through poses, breathe and accept where your body is at. This calmness is intentional. Poses aren’t necessarily unstressful, most are actually difficult. When your body naturally wants to react in a negative way (automatic stress reaction), practicing yoga asanas teaches you to react to stress positively and calmly, through breathing. This retraining helps you react to other events in your life the same way.

On the mat, we learn to diminish our superiority complex. We learn not to compare ourselves to our past or future selves, or others. And we can begin to learn patience.

It seems that sadness and dissatisfaction usually come from an constantly overthinking this “idealized self” or an “idealized future.” Wanting to be something that you are not, wanting to have something that you cannot, wanting, wanting, wanting – complete ‘I’ centredness. Through my own personal experience, it’s this ‘I’ centredness that stops you from living in the moment and being grateful for the things you do have. This can make worlds of difference in your day-to-day frustration. Instead of always looking for something better, shift to thoughts of gratefulness. I know that this can sometimes be difficult, but give it a try!

I feel like I harp on about self-care a lot. But I know for a fact, people still don’t realise just how important it is.

Here’s a good analogy to help you understand.

Take your car.
Run it on the wrong kind of fuel for a week. How well does it run?
Don’t change the oil for a couple of years. What happens to the engine?
Don’t ever clean the windows. What’s your vision like?
Run the battery completely flat and have to jumpstart it every week. See how that goes.
How would your car be running if you treated it like this for a few years?

…Your body is your vehicle.
Except you use it 100% of the time; unlike your car, which you use for a small percentage of the day, some days.

Why do you experience the urgency in looking after your car, but you run your body into the ground?

5 Daily Self Care Practices :

Mantra Meditation: to rest the mind, soothe the soul and give us a break from everyday life.

Abhyanga (self massage): rhythmic, repetitive strokes, with gently warmed oil, to calm the nervous system and nourish the tissues of the body.

Nature: find time to connect with Mother Nature and enjoy harmonising with the natural rhythms of energy

Solitude time: remove yourself from your everyday environment to take time out from your everyday influences.

Yoga-asanas: slow down and check in with your body; sharpen your awareness and flood your body with fresh oxygen.

Is it selfish to look after your car?

Of course not.

Something I’ve never understood, is why women feel selfish in looking after themselves. Is it selfish to invest time in doing the things that give us more energy; preserve our God given bodies; and keep our bodies happy, healthy and harmonious?

If you run your car into the ground, I guarentee, you will be spending a LOT more time thinking about it, fixing it, pouring resources and time into it. If you keep your car running well, get it serviced regularly, put the right fuel in it- it practically keeps running effortlessly, allowing you and your family to carry on with your life, go on amazing adventures, and get where you need to be day in day out.

YOUR BODY IS THE SAME.
Spend a little time looking after it each day to save yourself being FORCED to spend EXTRA time, energy and resources on it in the long run.

So which car do you think will go further and be more pleasant to drive?
And how are you treating your vehicle? Are you looking after yourself properly?

5 poses: Completely doable. No fuss. Loads of benefits.

Yoga asanas are the perfect way to workout.

They work our body on all movement planes, they increase strength whilst promoting flexibility; they are weight bearing without jarring the joints; and depending on the style of your practice, they can be a great cardio workout too.

They have a calming effect on the mind whilst simultaneously stimulating yet balancing the nervous system.

They assist with lymphatic drainage.

They bring fresh blood to the skin, giving you a healthy ‘glow’.

Asanas give us an opportunity to slow down, and take time out.

But there is reason why they are superior to your standard exercise regime.

Asanas, in conjunction with full yoga breathing, clear the nadis (energy channels) and allow for the free flow of energy up the central energetic channel- the sushumna. The sushumna is the flow centre for the sattvic (mode of goodness) energy within our body. This helps to bring us into a state that is more conducive to meditation and the yoga lifestyle on a whole. Asanas influence the mind by lightening and brightening our thoughts, and gently bringing about mental clarity. Which is why they are considered a superior way to work out!

Sometimes when I feel the pressure of ‘shoulding’ all over my asana practice (ie. I should be doing some asanas; I should have done my poses this morning, etc), I physically stop and remind myself that asanas are not something to should all over myself about.

They are there to help me; a tool I can implement to assist me in living a more sattvic life.

The truth is, you can live without asanas and still meditate and live a completely peaceful, yogic life…

But I’ve NEVER regretted class.
I’ve never regretted a handstand, backbend, spinal twist.
I’ve only ever come out of my practice- no how big or small- feeling refreshed, rejuvenated and grateful for the time to slow down and tune in with my body and mind.

Here is another #5posesaday sequence to help you pause and reflect, and soak up some of the wonderful benefits that yoga asanas have to offer. If you need assistance with the poses, please email me to request a complementary Yoga & Meditation Guide.

Remember: Change starts with us.
If you want to live a world that is more peaceful; cultivate peace within yourself.
If you want to live a world where people are being more compassionate; be compassionate yourself.
Don’t expect from other’s what you’re not willing to cultivate/promote within yourself.
Together we can make a difference. But we need to start with our selves.

And don’t forget, if you want support and accountability, we are all here to help you in our private, women’s only FB group. I hope to connect with you there!

I actually can’t quite believe that my first blog post is ACTUALLY happening. Managing a household & family, 4 small children, homeschooling, and looking after myself, I’m baffled that I manage to find time to run a business! As they say, where there is a will, there is a way.

I have been on quite the journey over the past 10 years. Recovering from mental illness and healing from Poly Cycstic Ovarian Syndrome was and has been an ongoing commitment. Recovering my health and vitality took healing on all levels- mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. So within my blog, you can expect to see info on all the elements of healing that have played a role in my successful recovery. From Ayurveda, to fitness, yoga & meditation, nutrition, as well as mindset and coaching. All these things continue to play a huge positive role in my life, and I have seen the lives of many of my clients change dramatically, just by slowly implementing this essentially ‘holistic’ way of life.

One of the best things that EVER happened to me, and continues to happen, is falling in love with Yoga. And by that I mean Yoga in it’s most complete sense- the lifestyle, the asana’s, the love and compassion, Ayurveda, kirtan, meditation, relationships, and ultimately, our relationship with the Supreme… Yoga is everything we need to live an AMAZING life of HAPPINESS and FULFILLMENT.

To celebrate love; and to celebrate yoga, every Monday I’ll be posting a yoga-asana sequence based on a simple and achievable 5 poses a day program. The main focus of the program is to integrate yoga-asana’s into our lives in a way that does not add pressure, nor feel like a ‘should’. 5 poses, to be held for a minimum of 5 breaths each, can take anywhere from 5-30 mins, based on how you’re feeling on the day, and how much time you have available.

5 poses breaks down the need for a spare 60-90mins to be able to practice.

5 poses allows us to open, soften and stretch regularly without taking away from our day.

5 poses gives us TIME and SPACE internally and externally.

Here is Day One of the program (right click and save to download it for easy reference; or Pin it). You can practice the same sequence over and over throughout the week- moving deeper into each pose, spending more time discovering different elements of the pose. Or you can make up your own sequences. If you’d like a copy of my free Yoga and Meditation guide, please email me at admin@samanthadoyle.com and I’ll send you a copy. It has some great sequences and a full break down of over 50 yoga poses to help get your started in your practice.

And remember to NEVER under estimate your impact on the world.
You are making an impact already. The magnitude and effect of that impact is based on your level of effort and awareness of what’s possible.
So how are you impacting other’s and your environment? (Food for thought 😉 )